An Idaho judge banned cameras from the courtroom during the trial of Bryan Kohberger, accused of the 2022 murder of four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home. However, there will still be a way for those interested in the court proceeding to watch from home.
In Nov. 2022, four University of Idaho students were found brutally murdered, shocking the small college town of Moscow, Idaho, and grabbing media attention nationwide. About a month later, Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania, where he was visiting family for the holidays. Kohberger was pursuing a doctorate in criminology at Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington, near Moscow.
Evidence against Kohberger included a witness description from someone inside the home when the four students died, DNA samples, and a period when Kohberger’s phone was turned off, the same time investigators believed the murders happened, CBS News reported. In an unusual move, Kohberger chose to “stand silent” when entering a plea, and as a result, the judge entered a not-guilty plea on Kohberger’s behalf.
By August, prosecutors announced they’d seek the death penalty in the Kohberger case, as Kohberger’s defense team requested a delay in the trial, scheduled at that point to begin in early October. As of this report, a new date for Kohberger’s trial to begin has not been set, according to The Seattle Times.
The Kohberger trial will stream on YouTube
When the Bryan Kohberger trial does begin, however, viewers can watch a YouTube livestream on Judge John Judge of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District’s YouTube channel. The camera covering the livestream will be operated by the court. The judge said his chief concern was maintaining control of media coverage of the high-profile trial. In his ruling, however, Judge Judge added, “[the livestream] will ensure the public still has access to see the proceedings for themselves if they cannot attend hearings in person” (via The Seattle Times).
In response to the judge’s ruling regarding the livestream, while still banning independent media coverage in the courtroom, Kohberger’s public defender Jay Logsdon said (via the Idaho Statesman), “The concept of removing this sort of almost sideshow from what’s being put out there, we think, would be an important way to kind of take away the sensationalization of this case, and just kind of reduce it to hopefully the words on the page.”
28-year-old Bryan Kohberger’s defense team previously requested murder charges be thrown out for the client, citing a biased grand jury and other reasons, according to The Independent. Their request was thrown out.